the first is a challenge to a federal law called the defense of marriage act. it says that marriage as far as the federal government is concerned can only be between one man and one woman. that means that in the states like washington where same-sex marriage is legal the federal government doesn't recognize those marriages, denying those couples about 1,000 benefits. if the supreme court strikes that law down, it wouldn't say states have to allow same-sex marriage. it would just say when they do the federal government has to recognize them. the other is a challenge to proposition 8 in california. that's the voter passed initiative that barred same-sex marriage in that state. now, that law was overturned, prop 8 was, by a federal appeals court that said you can't give a right and then take it away like this. if the supreme court does nothing more than uphold that ruling, it would apply only to california. so it may or may not get to the fundamental question about whether all states have to allow same-sex couples to get married. it could use the prop 8 case to re